A South Baltimore motorcycle gang and a Jessup business were being investigated yesterday in connection with the city's largest seizure of the drug PCP - a stash police valued at $50 million to $100 million.

Baltimore police said the gang is responsible for distributing phencyclidine, a hallucinogenic drug known as PCP, throughout the city.

The amount of chemicals seized late Wednesday at the home on the 3700 block of Liberty Heights Ave. in Northwest Baltimore amazed city and federal law enforcement officials who participated in the raid.

"It was one of the biggest [PCP] labs of its kind on the East Coast," said Commissioner Edward T. Norris.

Police arrested one man and had others in custody, but they wouldn't identify anyone, including the motorcycle gang. They said the investigation began 2 1/2 months ago and included numerous undercover buys throughout the city.

Authorities said they decided to raid the house after making an undercover purchase in South Baltimore, where they arrested an individual and determined that the PCP makers might destroy the drugs before police could seize them.

'Public safety'

The area around the house was cordoned off while the volatile chemicals were removed.

"What's the easiest way to get rid of that stuff - a big explosion," said Maj. Anthony Barksdale, commander of an anti-gun unit that investigated the case under the direction of detectives Greg Boris and Jim McKinley. "It wasn't just about the drugs; it was about public safety."

Following up on Wednesday's raid, authorities moved in yesterday with a search warrant on a business called Marlo Industries Inc. at 7785 Waterloo Road in Jessup.

Police said they believe chemicals were being processed and packaged there with the goal of transporting them to the Liberty Heights house.

At the Liberty Heights house, police said they found 42 five-gallon plastic jugs filled with liquid PCP and a production lab in the basement. In Jessup, authorities said they discovered 55 gallons of a key chemical ingredient of PCP.

The latest owners of the Liberty Heights property were George and Lena Boone, according to property records.

State incorporation records identify two men, Maurice L. Boone of Jessup and Kyle Boone of Randallstown, as officers with Marlo Industries. It was not clear what if any relationship Maurice and Kyle Boone have to George and Lena Boone.

Maurice Boone could not be reached for comment. A man who answered the phone at Kyle Boone's home last night said he was not in, and hung up with a firm "no comment."

According to Marlo's Web site, the company manufactures and distributes industrial grade solutions, compounds and concentrates for the cleaning industry. The site claims the company's clients include the White House, federal Bureau of Printing and Engraving, Amtrak, Andrews Air Force Base and the Baltimore and Philadelphia housing authorities.

Baltimore police are the lead investigators in the PCP case, which involves agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Barksdale said the investigation began when detectives in the Fire Arms Strike Team, or FAST, became curious about violence associated with motorcycle gangs after a young girl had been badly beaten by a biker.

The detectives were trying to penetrate the gangs and eventually began investigating ties between bikers and PCP trafficking, Barksdale said.

Detectives created dossiers on violent bikers and soon cultivated an informant who pointed them to a Baltimore drug organization that dealt PCP, Barksdale said.

The gang apparently wanted to lace marijuana with PCP to make the drug more potent and profitable, Barksdale said.

'Real surprise'

Barksdale said the lab appeared to be a "fresh set-up" that started operating recently. He said authorities never expected such a huge drug seizure.

"We had DEA chemists come in from Ohio and they said they had never seen an operation that size," Barksdale said. "There was just no comparison."

ATF agents working with city police were among the first officers at the scene and were also amazed by the enormous PCP discovery in a city where heroin and cocaine are far more commonplace, said ATF Special Agent in Charge Michael R. Bouchard.

"I was like, 'Are you sure? Here in Baltimore?' " Bouchard said. "Other places in the country, sure, but here that was a real surprise."

The brown, three-story home has a wrap-around porch and apartments on each floor. No one answered repeated buzzer rings at the home yesterday.

Area residents expressed shock at the police discovery.

One woman who lives on Liberty Heights Avenue, where several large homes have been converted to apartments and lawns are neatly kept, said she often saw young men coming and going from the house. She was under the impression that the building was a halfway house for recovering addicts and recently released inmates, she said.

"A bunch of young guys be over there all the time," said the woman, who asked that she not be identified for fear of retribution. "Different guys that come with big bags of stuff. They sit out there blasting music late at night, until someone calls the police."

The woman said the area is usually pretty quiet.

"It's a pretty good neighborhood, but there are a few corners where drugs are sold," she said.

In Jessup, business owners near Marlo said they never had reason to be suspicious of the company, which shares space with other firms.

"It was a shock to me," said Hugh Stone, owner of Jessup Coin, Jewelry and Pawn. "My grandchildren play back there."

Sun staff writers Gail Gibson and Kristin Sette contributed to this article.